Cases of Lyme disease are now officially everywhere in New Jersey.

Health officials say the tick-borne illness has been detected in all 21 counties, with nearly 3,900 cases reported so far this year.

The highest numbers are coming from Hunterdon, Morris, and Sussex counties, as well as a few cases in Monmouth and Ocean.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan explains why scientists are pointing to a warming climate as a reason for the prevalence of this disease.

Tick season is every season, so it never ends.

And Rutgers scientist Dina Fonseca reports the black-legged deer ticks that spread Lyme disease are flourishing in New Jersey.

She heads a lab project called Ticks for Science.

It collects and tests dead ticks mailed in by their victims, the Jersey residents they've bitten.

So we're seeing about 25 percent of the nymphs are infected with Lyme bacteria, 50 percent of the adults are infected with Lyme bacteria.

We are very aware of the presence of ticks and how likely it is that you can get Lyme disease by a tiny little bite.

Out in the field, literally, entomologists can simply sweep a white baby blanket over bushes in Bergen County and find black-legged ticks.

In spring, it's teeny nymphs about the size of Lincoln's bowtie on a penny that bite and transmit Lyme bacteria, and cases keep climbing.

So far, Jersey's Department of Health has logged more than 3,800 positive Lyme cases in all 21 counties.

Whereas last year it was actually below normal, this year it's normal, maybe normal to slightly above normal this year in terms of Lyme.

So yeah, ticks have been pretty active this year.

Right now, Huntington County tops New Jersey's Lyme hot spots, which also include Morris, Sussex, Monmouth, and Ocean.

Come mid-September, the newly adult black-legged deer ticks start biting.

And with a warming climate, they bite for months.

Deer ticks, so long as the temperature is like in the upper 40s or 50s, they'll come out.

So they'll actually come out in the wintertime.

If you have a warm week in February, it happens.

So you have to establish a new baseline.

I would say the new baseline for New Jersey is probably in the range of 5,000 to 6,000 cases.

Dr. Richard Porwanser is a Lyme disease specialist.

He says people bitten by infected deer ticks can get treated with a common antibiotic, doxycycline, within 72 hours of removing the tick.

But he's also been working with Pfizer to develop a Lyme vaccine that's currently in stage three double-blind trials.

Some preliminary studies that have been released show that it produces a good antibody response and that it appears to be safe.

However, we don't know how effective it is.

He says Lyme bacteria can attack the brain, nervous system, and heart with devastating results.

It's only transmitted by deer ticks, but they can also carry four other pathogens.

And studies show different tick species are moving into New Jersey, like the aggressive Gulf Coast tick, usually found in southern states.

It transmits a type of spotted fever.

Up to 40% of ticks or more can be infected.

So we are especially concerned about this Gulf Coast tick.

An infected female passes on the bacteria to the eggs and then the larvae hatch already infected.

Gulf Coast ticks can transmit disease in less than an hour, but it takes black-legged deer ticks longer, more than a full day.

Experts advise folks out walking in the woods to take precautions, wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts sprayed with tick repellent, and to check for ticks when they get home.

I'm Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

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